QUEST: Quantifying and Understanding the Earth System
Integrative activities | Working groups | Fire
Fire
This Working Group aimed to understand the role of fire in the Earth System and to quantify the vulnerability of ecosystems to changes in fire. It is a component of the IGBP cross-project Fire Task, which developed from the IGBP Fast Track Initiative (FTI) on fire. The FTI held its final meeting in 2006 with QUEST support. Ongoing work planned at that meeting included model simulations to quantify the implications of natural and human-set fire for vegetation composition and structure, atmospheric chemistry (e.g. tropospheric ozone), and ocean productivity. QUEST scientists also produced the first observation-based global fire regime map from remotely sensed products. Two palaeofire subgroup workshops have assembled a global database of palaeofire from sedimentary charcoal and compared the results with simulations, showing how climate change since the last glacial maximum has been a definitive influence on fire regimes, and providing an innovative test of models.
A proposed extension concerns the application of fire modelling to the tasks of fire management for risk prevention, conservation and enhancement of carbon stocks. A workshop brought together experts from ecology and forestry together with climate project developers and modellers to discuss controversial issues, such as: What forms of fire management have succeeded? Can fire management increase carbon stocks, or will it simply increase the risk of carbon release? What is the impact of fire suppression or active fire management on biodiversity? What forms of community engagement will ensure successful fire management?
Leaders: Wolfgang Knorr, Sandy Harrison
Co-sponsor: IGBP
QUEST links: Theme 1 (Feedbacks QUEST, QESM), Theme 2 (QUEST Deglaciation), Theme 3 (Fire-MAFS)
Other UK links: NCEO
International links: IGBP Fire Task, NCEAS Pyrogeography Working Group
Products:
- Prentice, I.C., Harrison, S.P., Bartlein, P.J., Flannigan, M., Lavorel, S., (2007) Fire in the Earth System and the IGBP. iLEAPS Newsletter 4: 4-7
- Harrison, S.P., Power, M. and Bond, W., (2007) Palaeofires and the Earth System. iLEAPS Newsletter 4: 8-11
- Power, M.J., Ortiz, N., Marlon, J., Bartlein, P.J., Harrison, S.P., Mayle, F., Ballouche, A., Bradshaw, R., Carcaillet, C., Cordova, C., Mooney, S., Moreno, P., Prentice, I.C., Thonicke, K., Tinner, W., Whitlock, C., Zhang, Y., Zhao, Y., Anderson, R.S., Beer, R., Behling, H., Briles, C., Brown, K, Brunelle A., Bush, M., Clark, J., Colombaroli, D., Chu, C. Q., Daniels, M., Dodson, J., Edwards, M.E., Fisinger, W., Gavin, D.G., Gobet, E., Hallett, D.J., Higuera, P., Horn, S., Inoue, J., Kaltenrieder, P., Kennedy, L., Kong, Z.C., Long, C., Lynch, J., Lynch, B., McGlone, M., Meeks, S., Meyer, G., Minckley, T., Mohr, J., Noti, R., Pierce, J., Richard, P., Shuman, B.J., Takahara, H., Toney, J., Turney, C., Umbanhower, C., Vandergoes, M., Vanniere, B., Vescovi, E., Walsh, M., Wang, X., Williams, N., Wilmshurst, J., Zhang , J.H., (2008) Changes in fire regimes since the LGM: an assessment based on a global synthesis and analysis of charcoal data. Climate Dynamics 30: 887-907 (doi: 10.1007/s00382-007-0334-x)
- Power, M., Marlon, J., Bartlein, P.J. and Harrison, S.P., (2008) Fire in the Earth System: The Global Palaeofire Working Group. PAGES Newsletter 16: 39-40.
- Mayle, F.E. and Power, M.J. (2008) Impact of a drier Early-Mid-Holocene climate upon Amazonian forests. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 363, 1829-1838
- Marlon, J.R., Bartlein, P.J., Carcaillet, C., Gavin, D.G., Harrison, S.P., Higuera, P.E., Joos, F., Power, M.J., Prentice, I.C. (2008) Climate and human influences on global biomass burning over the past two millenia. Nature Geoscience 1, 10: 697-702. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo313
- Marlon, J.R., Bartlein, P.J., Carcaillet, C., Gavin, D.G., Harrison, S.P., Higuera, P.E., Joos, F., Power, M.J., Prentice, I.C. (2009) Climate and human influences on global biomass burning over the past two millenia (vol 1, pg 697, 2008). Nature Geoscience 2, 4: 307. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo468
- Marlon, J., Bartlein, P.J, Walsh, M.K., Harrison, SP, Brown, K.J., Edwards, M.E. , Higuera, P.E. , Power, M.J. , Anderson, R.S. , Briles, C. , Brunelle, A., Carcaillet, C. , Daniels, M. , Hu, F. S, Lavole, M., Long, C. , Minckley, T., Richard, P.J.H. , Scott, A.C., Shafer, D.S. , Tinner, W. , Umbanhowar, C.E. & Whitlock, C.. (2009) 'Wildfire responses to abrupt climate change in North America', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, pp. 2519-2524.
- Bowman DMJS, Balch JK, Artaxo P, Bond, WJ, Carlson JM, Cochrane MA, D'Antonio CM, DeFries RS, Doyle JC, Harrison SP, Johnston FH, Keeley JE, Krawchuk MA, Prentice IC, Roos CI, Scott AC, Swetnam TW, van der Werf GR, Pyne SJ. (2009) Fire in the Earth System. Science 324(5926): 481-484
- Power, M.J., Marlon, J.R., Bartlein, P.J., Harrison, S.P. (2009) Fire history and the Global Charcoal Database: A new tool for hypothesis testing and data exploration. Palaeo3, Available online 8 October 2009. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.09.014
In prep:
- Harrison et al., The rules of fire, Nature Geoscience
- Daniau et al., subm. Fire regimes during the last glacial. Quaternary Science Reviews
- Daniau et al., nearly subm. Large, asynchronous fire regime changes consistent with deglacial climate changes and precessional forcing. Nature Geoscience